Ore-washing apparatus



June 3, 1952 R. B. LINDSEY 2,599,402

ORE WASHING APPARATUS Filed June 5, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

TTORNEY June 3, 1952 R. B. LINDSEY ORE WASHING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5 1950 ATTORNEY INVE NTOR. 5. L/mirey June 3, 1952 R, B. LINDSEY ORE WASHING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 5, 1950 1 N VEN TOR. E0 5. L mdsa y j A TTORA/zEY June 3, 1952 R. B. LINDSEY 2,599,402

ORE WASHING APPARATUS 7 Filed June 5, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 50/ 5. 1/0650? .0 m f n N ATTORA/EV Patented June 3, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ORE-WASHING APPARATUS Roy B. Lindsey, Phoenix, Ariz.

Application June 5, 1950, Serial No. 166,224

1 Claim. (01. 209-44) This invention relates to ore washing apparatus and has for its primary object to recover from ore the heavier valuable substances.

Another object is to enable the separation of the valuable products from the remaining products of ore in a continuous uninterrupted process which requires but a minimum amount of labor.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a trommel having a perforate and an imperforate section with the ore introduced into the imperforate section in which it is moved by a spiral bafile toward the perforate section, means for introducing wash water into the trommel for loosening and scrubbing the ore in order that the valuable products may be freed from the undesirable material and discharged into the perforate portion of the trommel, and a trough mounted below the trommel into which the material whichpasses through the perforated section of the trommel is received together with a portion of the wash water, means for rocking the receiving trough, and a bafile adjacent the end of the receiving trough behind which the heavier valuable products are collected for subsequent removal by hand.

Other features include means for adjusting the inclination of the trommel so as to enable the level at which the wash water is discharged therefrom to be varied, corrugations in the bottom of the inclined trough over which the wash water containing the material to be separated is continuously agitated, and means at the lower end of the inclined trough and extending above the bafiie for aiding in the removal of the valueless products.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of an ore washing apparatus embodying the features of this invention.

Figure 2 is an end view of the feeding end of the apparatus,

Figure 3 is an end view of the discharge end of the apparatus,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Figure 1,

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 66 of Figure 1, and

Figure 7 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 1-1 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail a frame designated generally I0 comprises horizontal side grooved drive rollers 54.

bars I2 which are joined adjacent opposite ends by end'bars M. In the preferred form of the invention the frame [0 is supported on suitable legs I6, and mounted on the frame are cross members l8 and 20 which lie transversally of the frame in spaced parallel relation intermediate the ends thereof. Similar cross members 22 extend across the frame It! adjacent opposite ends and mounted on the cross members I8, 20 and 22 adjacent one side of the frame I0 are bearings 24 in which a drive shaft 26 is mounted to rotate. This drive shaft is equipped at one end with a suitable drive pulley 28 and carries at its opposite end a pulley 30, the purpose of which will be more fully hereinafter explained.

Mounted in a suitable bearing 32 carried by the cross member 18 is an idler shaft 34 which extends substantially parallel to the shaft 26 and is also mounted in a bearing 38 which is mounted for longitudinal sliding movement on the cross member 2|). The top web of the cross member 20 is provided with a longitudinally extending elongated slot, and depending from the under side of the bearing 38 and extending through said slot is an ear 42 having an internally screw threaded opening extending therethrough in parallel relation to the slot 40. Secured to the under side of the top of the cross member 20 and depending therefrom is a bearing block 44 in which one end of a screw 46 is mounted to rotate. This screw extends through the opening in the ear 42 in threaded engagement with the threads therein, and projects longitudinally beneath the top of the cross member 20 through a bearing block 48 carried thereby, and fixed to the end of the screw 46 remote from the bearing block 44 is a hand crank 50 by means of which the screw may be rotated to move the bearing block longitudinally on the frame member 20.

Mounted for rotation on the idler shaft 34 are idler rollers 52, and secured to the shaft 26 are These rollers 52 and 54 form the support for a trommel designated generally 55 which is equipped at spaced points with bands 58 and 60. It will thus be seen that when the drive shaft 26 is set into motion, the drive rollers 54 contacting the bands 58 and 60 will cause the trommel 56 to rotate.

The trommel above referred to comprises a cylinder having an imperforate section 62 and a perforated section 64. Carried at circumferentially spaced points on the interior of the imperforate section 62 are longitudinally extending bafiies or weirs 66 which serve to agitate the ore deposited in the trommel and carry it up the sides thereof as the trommel rotates so that it will fall back and become broken to facilitate the extraction of the valuable products therefrom. Carried by the wall of the imperforate section 62 of the trommel 56 and extending thereinto is a spiral baflle or weir 68 which as illustrated is relatively shallow adjacent the receiving end of the trommel but which increases in depth as at 16 adjacent the perforate portion 64 of the trommel 56. This spiral weir 68 serves to cause the ore deposited within the trommel 56 to be advanced through the imperforate section 62 toward the perforate section 64 thereof as the trommel rotates. The end of the imperforate section 62 of the trommel 56 remote from the perforate section 64 thereof is provided with an end closure I2 which is formed with an axial opening I4, and surrounding the axial opening I4 is an inwardly extending collar 16 into which the discharge end of a funnel shaped hopper I8 is extended. This hopper I8 serves to receive the ore to be treated, and discharges said ore into the imperforate section-62 of the trommel 56 as will be readily understood upon reference to Figure 1. Extending outwardly fromthe end closure I2 in surrounding relation with the opening I4 is a conical member 86 which serves to direct wash water flowing out of the imperforate section 62 of the trommel 56 through the opening 14 into a-waste trough 62 which discharges into any convenient waste receptacle.

Mounted on theframe I6 and extending longitudinally thereof beneath the trommel 56 is a collecting trough 84, the bottom of which slopes downwardly from-theend thereof adjacent the extreme outer end'of the-perforate section 64 of the trommel 56, so thatmaterial passing through the perforations ofthe perforate section 64 will be collected in the trough '64 and discharged therefrom at theend thereof adjacent the feed hopper I8. I

Mounted-in theframe I6 below the collecting trough 84, and inclining downwardly from the discharge end thereof toward the receiving end thereof is a shaft, and mounted for rocking motionof said shaft is'a'downwardly inclined rocking trough designated :generally 88. This trough is provided with a generally arcuate bottom 96 which is provided-at peripherally spaced points with inwardly extending corrugations 92 which form baffles across which the wash water containing the ore to beseparated is continuously agitated during the rocking of the trough 68. The end of the trough -88 adjacent the discharge end of the trough 64 is closed by anend wall 92, so as to prevent the material leaving the discharge end of the trough 84 from-flowingout of the upper end of the inclined-rocking trough 86. A weir or baffle bridges the lowerend ofthe rockingtrough 88 as will be readily understood upon reference to the drawings. As illustrated the corrugations terminate in spaced relation to the weir 96 so that the lower section 98 of the bottom 66 of the trough'88'is relatively smooth, and if so desiredsuitable depressions orlpockets I66 may be formed in-the smooth portion'9'8 in which the valuable productsare collected behind the weir 96.

Suspended on suitable bearing braekets I62 beneath the frame I6, -andabove of the rocking trough 88 is a shaft I64 carryinga screw-I66 which projects into the lower endof the trough 88 above the weir -96, andwhen operatedithis screw servesto improve the rapidity with which the products "of lesser :value are extracte'd'from the trough. A suitable pulley I68 is carried by the shaft I64 and driving connection is established between the pulleys 36 and I68 through the medium of an endless belt II6.

In order to supply wash water to the apparatus I provide a supply pipe II2 which is connected through a suitable valve II4 to a discharge pipe I I6 which opens into the hopper 18. The supply pipe H2 is also coupled through the medium of the conventional valve II8 with a pipe I26 which enters the open end of the perforate section 64 of the trommel 56 and has its discharge end located within the imperforate section 62 of said trommel so that when the valve H6 is opened, water will be admitted to the imperforate section of the trommel in a direction counter to the flow of the ore therethrough. A spray pipe I 22 extends into the open end of the perforate section 64 of the trommel 56 and is coupled through a conventional valve I24 with the supply pipe '2. It will thus be seen that by opening the valve I 24 the washed material leaving the imperforate section 62 of the trommel 56 may be further sprayed, so that the material which passed through the perforate section 64, and the water sprayed through the pipe I22 will be collected in the trough 84, to be discharged from the discharge end thereof into the rocking trough 88.

Mounted forrotary motion in suitable bearings I26 carried by the frame I6 is a crank shaft'l28 having a crank I 36 to which a connecting rod I32 is rotatably connected'at I34. The opposite end of the connecting rod I32 is coupled to a bar I36 which is rockablysupported at I38 on the end 94 of the-trough 88. Fixed to the trough and extending laterally therefrom'is a plate I38 having an arcuate slot I46 therein which lies concentric about the rocking connection I38, and carried by the bar I36 and-extending through the slot I46 is a screw I42 which holds the bar I36 in various adjusted positions relative to the rocking trough 88 to thereby control the length of stroke imparted by the connecting rod to the rocking trough 86, so that its magnitude of motion may be varied to suit varying requirements.

In use ore to be washed is deposited in the hopper I8 and flows through the funnel'shaped portion thereof into the-interior of the imperforate portion of the trommel 56. Upon opening the valve I I4, and rotating the drive shaft 26, it will be evident that the trommel56 will rotate about its axis thus causing theme to be-tumbled within the imperforate portion 62of the trommel by the bafiles 66. With the-valve II8 opened, it will be evident that wash water will flow through the pipe I26 into the imperforate-portion 62 of the trommel 56, and as thetrommel rotates,'the ore contained therein will be advanced by the spiral baffle 68 toward the perforate portion 64 of the trommel and counter to the flow of water into the trommel through the pipe-I26. Owing to the height of the spiral bafiles 68 at their ends 16, and'the height of the opening .14 in the end closure 12 of the imperforate portion 62 of the trommel 56, it will be evident that water will be trapped within the trommel and may escape only by overflowing through the opening 14 to be dis charged into thewaste trough 82. Obviously by rotating the hand screw 46, the roller 52 supporting'thetrommel 56 adjacent'the junction of the imperforateportion 62 with the perforate portion 64, the roller 52 will cause the trommel to raise or lower according to the direction of rotation 'ofthe screw 46. By thus adjusting the tilt of the trommel 56, it will be evident that the volume of water contained in the imperforate portion thereof may be regulated. As the washed ore is discharged by the spiral baffle 68 into the perforate portion 64 of the trommel 56, it is sprayed by water issuing from the sprayed pipe 22 and the ore which passes through the perforations in the perforated portion 64 is received in the trough 84 together with the spray water. Flowing with the water in the trough 86 to the discharge end thereof, the ore and water are received in the upper end of the rocking trough 88 in which the ore and water are rocked across the corrugations 92 to further separate the heavier valuable contents of the ore from the remainder thereof. Flowing downwardly in the trough 88, the ore and water reach the lower end thereof with the water with lighter contents of the ore flowing over the upper edge of the weir 96, while the heavier valuable products will be arrested by the weir and retained in the trough 88 for subsequent removal. Obviously the heavier products will also enter the pockets or depressions I90 and thus the capacity of the trough 88 for retaining the valuable products is increased. Obviously the operation may be continued indefinitely by continually feeding ore into the hopper 78 until such time as the space in the trough 88 behind the weir 96 becomes filled with the valuable products.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred form of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

In an ore washing apparatus, including a cylindrical, horizontally rotatable trommel having a front end imperforate section and a rear end perforate section, a trough of substantially V-shape cross-section and a width somewhat greater than the diameter of the trommel, said trough underlying the under side of the trommel and sloping downwardly and forwardly for receiving the washed ore discharged through the perforations of the perforate section thereof, a second trough of substantially arcuate crosssection underlying the longitudinal central portion of the first trough and sloping downwardly and rearwardly to receive the washed ore from the forward end of the first trough, means for imparting a lateral rocking motion to the second 6 trough, a bafiie within the second trough at each side of the longitudinal center thereof for agitating the washed ore in its passage along the same, said baffles terminating short of the rear end of the second trough, means in the bottom of the second trough beyond the terminal ends of the baiiies for collecting the heavier value containing ore from the wash water as it and the lighter value free ore overflows the trough end, and a rotary spiral element projecting angularly into the rear end of the second trough to assist in the discharge of the wash water and the lighter ore from the trough end.

ROY B. LINDSEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 6,791 Von Schmidt Oct. 16, 1849 6,801 Green Oct. 16, 1849 14,388 Carter Mar. 11, 1856 73,306 Donnelly Jan. 14, 1868 139,390 Hooper May 27, 1873 227,309 Shaw Mar. 4, 1880 332,831 Randel Dec. 22, 1885 343,241 Hubert June 8, 1886 394,654 Jones Dec. 18, 1888 496,391 Bair May 2, 1893 553,817 Walker Jan. 28, 1896 569,113 Miller Oct. 6, 1896 752,926 Schmitz Feb. 23, 1904 769,211 Du Bois Sept. 6, 1904 848,270 Stonton Mar. 26, 1907 1,117,828 Fry Nov. 17, 1914 1,302,697 Moussette May 6, 1919 1,387,238 Cave Aug. 9, 1921 1,403,260 Ludlum Jan. 10, 1922 1,438,708 Hoover Dec. 12, 1922 1,784,246 Teaton Dec. 9, 1930 2,164,364 Willner July 4, 1939 2,288,742 Ransahoff July 7, 1942 2,293,228 Tucker Aug. 18, 1942 2,323,154 Ransahoif June 29, 1943 2,488,640 Overpeck Nov. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 18,457 Great Britain July 8, 1915 234,968 Great Britain June 11, 1925 852,707 France Mar. 1, 1940 

